The American put is one of the oldest problems in mathematical finance. We review the development of the relevant literature over the last 40 years. Today the mainstream computational problems have been solved satisfactorily and the target of research is shifting towards the development of...

We propose a class of new robust GMM tests for endogenous structural breaks. The tests are based on supremum and average statistics derived from robust GMM estimators with a bounded influence function. They imply a bounded linearized asymptotic bias of size and power under local model...

We propose a new class of test statistics inducing accurate dual likelihood ratio tests of parametric constraints in overidentified moment conditions models. These statistics are derived from the dual likelihood implied by the exponent in the saddlepoint approximation of a general GMM estimator...

We introduce a new analytical approach to price American options. Using an explicit and intuitive proxy for the exercise rule, we derive tractable pricing formulas using a short-maturity asymptotic expansion. Depending on model parameters, this method can accurately price options with...

In this paper we construct arbitrage-free market models of stochastic volatility type for one stock, one bank account and a finite family of European call options with various strikes and maturities. We first introduce local implied volatilities and price level as market observables which...

In empirical modeling, there have been two strands for pricing in the options literature, namely the parametric and nonparametric models. Often, the support for the nonparametric methods is based on a benchmark such as theBlack-Scholes model with constant volatility. In this paper, we examine...

This paper investigates the impact of heterogeneous beliefs of professional investors on the currency options market. Using a unique data set with detailed information on the foreign-exchange forecasts of about 50 market participants over more than ten years, we construct an empirical proxy for...

In the existing literature on barrier options, much effort has been exerted to ensureconvergence through placing the barrier in close proximity to, or directly onto, thenodes of the tree lattice. In this paper we show that this may not be necessary toachieve accurate option price...

Financial models are largely used in option pricing. These physical models capture several salient features of asset price dynamics. The pricing performance can be significantly enhanced when they are combined with nonparametric learning approaches, that empirically learn and correct pricing...

Do you enjoy chores such as mowing the lawn or, as it is called in Canada, shovelling the snow? Below we discuss a simpler method of trimming the hedge, suggested by Barone-Adesi, Engle and Mancini. Assuming the option price is homogeneous our calculation is model independent and provides delta...